ONE Covid-19 death has been announced in Oxfordshire for the first time in more than two weeks only a day after lockdown restrictions were eased.

The death recorded in Cherwell takes the total number to 718 in the county and 190 in the district, the latest official figures reveal.

According to the Government’s website, as of 4.30pm on Tuesday there were 31 new cases recorded in Oxfordshire, compared with 44 recorded on Monday.

The rate of infection in Oxfordshire now stands at 4,792 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 6,747.

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These were the numbers for the past 24 hours by local authority:

l Oxford – 6

l South Oxfordshire – 8

l West Oxfordshire – 9

l Vale of White Horse – 4

l Cherwell – 4

The total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic started are:

l Oxford – 9,298

l Oxfordshire – 33,144

Cases in Oxfordshire were among the 533,519 recorded across the South East, a figure which rose by 355 over the period.

The UK has recorded a further 56 Covid-related deaths and 4,040 new cases, Public Health England confirmed.

The health body is now including Pillar 2 tests – those carried out by commercial partners – alongside Pillar 1 tests, which are analysed in NHS or PHE laboratories and which made up the first stage of the Government's mass testing programme.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.